On 1st May 2011 we hid five hundred golden tickets in Brixton Tate Library, between the pages of select books that reference themes from sugar to Victoriana, labour, art, Black history, Charles Dickens, employment and architecture. Golden posters were dotted around the library, to catch visitors’ eyes and let them know to look out for the tickets.

It was an invitation; a means of opening up a collective investigation into the philanthropic legacy of of Sir Henry Tate. The tickets were intended for any member of the public using Brixton Library who might be compelled by curiosity after finding one to join us on Henry’s Trail.

These were some of the books that the first twelve people to respond found their golden tickets inside…

“It was amazing – went to work on my manuscript in the reference library and noticed your poster on the way up. Checking references, I opened The Victorians by John Gardiner and out it came. I had also brought 2 volumes of The Oxford History of England (19th century) to my table – another golden ticket!” – Eva O’Cathoir

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“It was like Christmas. I like visiting good libraries. It helps me to concentrate on my research and writing, seeing others working away. Anyway, I saw the poster for the golden tickets coming in, settled down in the quiet study room – very attractive, modern style in a traditional building and the first book I opened, the golden ticket fell out.

With hindsight, it was no wonder more golden tickets appeared – I was reading up late 19th century English history, a period of enormous change, when Henry Tate made his fortune.”

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“When I found my ticket I somehow felt I owed it to the book to borrow it. Time flew and I ended up paying a £3 fine for returning it late, but that works out at only £1 an outing so it was really worth it.” – Caroline Hendrie

We arranged to meet for the first time on Saturday 14 May, at Brixton Tate Library. Everyone introduced themselves, and we took a group portrait under the bust of Henry Tate, which stands outside the library in Windrush Square and lends its name to this blog. We decided that whenever we came across a portait of Henry we’d take a group picture.

Then we headed by tube to Tate Britain, where we looked at artworks from Henry Tate’s original collection that hang in the gallery today. Works from his initial bequeathal are listed here on the Tate website – if you scroll down you’re able to see which works are currently on display in the Galleries.

We also had an introduction from Sarah Den Dikken about the many gifts and bequests within the Tate’s collection, which sparked an initial discussion between us about contemporary philanthropy.

…From there we had an introduction to the Tate Library and Archive from Krystof Cieszkowski, and looked over some of Tate’s original bequeathal documents, along with letters and portraits in the archive collections.

A group portrait with Henry …And from there we took a boat down the Thames to the Tate Modern, to see the Miró exhibition.

“It was interesting being in the archives of the Tate. Seeing how the place evolved over the centuries. It used to be a swamp near the Thames and then became a sort of model prison in Millbank. Not successful, Millbank Prison was described as an architectural disaster with long corridors, fairly damp. Prisoners were put into irons here and taken out to the Thames to be transported to Australia. We were lucky, we travelled between Tate and Tate by Thames Clipper.”

And finally, up to the top of Tate Modern

where we reflected on the day with a back-drop view over London.

“This is one of the best things about Tate Modern – the view from the top, across to St. Paul’s Cathedral. It rivals a painting, the way your eye is drawn across the river by the Millenium Bridge to the city of London. St. Paul’s always looks a sort of cheerful building and its architect, Christopher Wren’s grave has an inscription saying “If you seek his monument, look around you”. You could apply that to Henry Tate when you look at the libraries and galleries he sponsored.”

On Saturday 28th May we gathered on Windrush Square, where the paving slabs are patterned with sugar cane. Local historian Alan Piper told us a history of Brixton and the Tate Brixton Library.

We moved indoors to meet Vincia Bennet, the manager of Brixton Tate Library, who introduced us to the ins-and-outs of a day in the life of the library.

From the library we drove to Park Hill in Streatham, Brixton’s neighbouring borough, where Henry Tate lived and initially housed his collection of British art.

Park Hill was designed and built between 1830 – 1835 by J. B. Papworth (1775-1847), a founder member of Royal Institute of British Architects, for William Leaf, a banker and silk merchant from Streatham. Henry bought the property in 1874 and became a resident during the 1880’s.

Works from the current Tate Collection, such as John Everett Millais’s Ophelia (1851-52) and John William Waterhouse’s Lady of Shalott (1888) were originally displayed at Park Hill. It’s rumoured that Henry opened his doors to the public on Sunday afternoons.

The house was modified in 1880, when Henry commissioned the landscape designer Robert Marnock (1800-1889) to redesign the gardens, and a review was published inGarden magazine in 1886. He also added an entrance porch and extended other features of the house. The building and grounds are now a Grade II listed. Tate lived at the house until his death on 5thDecember 1899, when he was buried at the nearby Norwood cemetery.

Park Hill was redeveloped as a residential complex between 2001 and 2002, and renamed Sir Henry Tate Mews. We were warmly accommodated by Debbie Orl and her family, who are the current owners of the house.

In the gardens of Henry Tate Mews three flights of steps, each flanked by sphinxes on plinths, lead down from the terrace to the orchard. The terrace walls and small doric summerhouse at the north end are all grade II listed.

We took the train to West Norward Cemetery, where Jill Dudman took us on a tour around the Cemetery and showed us to the Tate family mausoleum. Henry commissioned his family mausoleum in 1884. It was designed by the architect Harold Peto (1854-1933).

“Did Henry choose the inscription and the design of his mausoleum himself? Did lots of graves of the same period in Norwood cemetery have that line from the Song of Solomon?”– Caroline Hendrie

We finished the day in the Cemetery rose garden, where Caroline Tate shared letters from her great, great grandfather about the opening of his gallery.

Our third and final day trip on Henry’s Trail took us to the Tate & Lyle Thames Refinery, in Silvertown.

An early archival photograph of the original packaging of Tate Cube Sugars…

And Tate & Lyle sugar as we know it today.

Ken Wilson gave us a presentation about the process of refining sugar at the Tate & Lyle Thames Refinery, and the history of Tate & Lyle.

“I was surprised to hear that the sugar still arrives by ship, coming right up the Thames to the factory pier. The warehouses near Tower Bridge have all been turned into flats and restaurants long ago and I didn’t realise there were cargo ships still making deliveries. I thought everything went by road these days, so good to find the river is still a real thoroughfare.” — Caroline Hendrie

“The debate ended happily with everyone who took part feeling satisfied they’d been right all along.” — Caroline Hendrie

Kitted out in hard hats, goggles and high-vis jackets, on our way to a site-visit of the factory.

“There were slogans and safety notices everywhere. The current posters were more subtle, with positive messages like ‘this woman helps avoid 90 per cent of on site injuries by tidying her work station, do you?” In the museum there was one saying “Employees going from floor to floor must use the stairs or lift. Anyone sliding down the shoots will be dismissed.” I wonder if it was only Tate himself who was allowed to slide down the shoot, like Willy Wonka.” – Caroline Hendrie

“JCB sugar scoop! …The smell of cane sugar in the air was amazing”

– Laura Hemming-Lowe

“I was astounded that sugar looking like a pile of sand sits in an open shed with pigeons flapping about. And then it ends up in bags on a supermarket shelf.”

– Caroline Hendrie

On our way out of Silvertown we passed by the old Tate Institute, on the junction of Wythes Road and Connaught Road.

Tate built the Institute opposite his Silvertown factory for the benefit of his workers, in 1887. The Institute was open until 1933, when it was sold to be used as the local library. With the library on the top floor, the ground floor was used for regular social events by local residents and Tate & Lyle employees. It’s now disused and has been boarded up, but there are plans to renovate and re-open it.

“They’ll have to use it for something. They need to use buildings instead of leaving them empty!” — Elouise Ferron